Amid having new members, The Juans still manages to be a solid band performing as if everybody has been on the same rhythm for so long. It’s definite that music runs in their blood.
It was in 2016 when this author first met with the five-member group. They were performing at the Music Hall at Metrowalk in Pasig. And during the interview, they took him on a musical journey—narrating their story from being a boyband to being groomed as a pop band whose every member plays his won musical instrument.
They said their peg was the British boyband One Direction. It’s also the group that inspired their name as a music act.
Fast forward to 2019, The Juans has a few hits under its belt and has definitely found its own sound.
Number one on Spotify Philippines’ Viral 50 charts, on the cover of Spotify’s “Tatak Pinoy” playlist with over six million listens on the streaming platform, and eight million views on YouTube—these are just some of the achievements the band bagged this year for its single “Hindi Tayo Pwede.”
The Juans—composed of Carl Guevarra (keys/vocals), Japs Mendoza (guitar/vocals), RJ Cruz (acoustic guitar/vocals), Chael Adriano (bass/vocals), and Josh Coronel (drums)—made all these accomplishments possible through their six-track late 2018 album “Umaga” and not to mention, through grit and patience.
On top of that, they also held a pair of very successful shows entitled UMG Live—one of which involved over a thousand of their fans flocking to Bulacan to catch the show.
The Juans has been working to promote the album all year long. That’s why its success is all the more inspiring and sweeter.
The catalyst for The Juans’ current upswing is when the band uploaded a performance video of “Hindi Tayo Pwede” on Facebook. The clip also featured Janine Tenoso, who recorded a cover of the song for a movie. The video gained two million views within a week.
Soon afterward video performances of its songs, which include “Hatid,” “Atin Ang Mundo,” and “Binibini Sa MRT,” also received the same amount of traction on social media.
With the band’s continuing efforts and its tenacious social media presence, The Juans is getting its well-deserved attention. All its members’ hard work paid off for them when “Hindi Tayo Pwede” finally climbed all the way to the number one spot on Spotify’s Viral 50 charts.
Not bad for a homegrown boy band. And as they receive their rightful achievements, the band forges on. “The dream never stops for The Juans. We’ll keep writing songs and will be singing our hearts out and hopefully touch people’s souls as we continually live to inspire every ordinary Juan out there,” said vocalist Carl Guevarra.
